Motor vehicle safety barrier mounting

ABSTRACT

A improved form of attachment for a motor vehicle safety screen assembly which includes a screen having a perimeter frame ( 12 ) of tubular metal and an in fill panel ( 13 ) extending between the perimeter frame members, and a plurality of metal securing straps ( 15 ) which are connected to the frame ( 12 ) of the screen by connector brackets ( 20 ) each mounted on a bush ( 22 ) which is fitted on a respective frame member of the frame ( 12 ), wherein each of the brackets ( 20 ) can be rotated about the axis of their associated bush ( 22 ) to positions on opposites sides of the screen. The bushes ( 22 ) are made of two hinged portions which can be opened to facilitate attachment to the frame member and then subsequently closed and clipped together.

This invention relates to an improved mounting bracket for attachment toa perimeter frame member of a safety screen or barrier for use in amotor vehicle. The invention concerns safety screens of the type whereina mesh in-fill panel is secured to a tubular metal peripheral frame andwhich, when mounted within the vehicle, extends transversely from sideto side and from the roof to the floor of the vehicle and against whichany unrestrained forwardly moving load can impact in a situation wherethe vehicle comes to a sudden halt or suddenly decelerates.

Metal mesh safety screens of the aforementioned kind are well known inthe industry and have been in common use for many years. It is alsoknown for these screens to be secured in position within the vehicle bymeans of either fixed metal brackets which are rigidly fixed to both thescreen frame and an anchorage plate fixed, for example, in the floor ofthe vehicle, or by means of a plurality of elongate securing strapswhich extend rearwardly away from the screen and each of which isattached at its leading end to a fastening bolt which is itself mountedin a rigid mounting plate or lug fixedly secured, eg by welding, to thescreen frame. The use of elongate securing straps in order to secure thescreen in position is disclosed in our Australian patent specificationnumber 583738 entitled “Vehicle Safety Screen Fixing Means”. While thefixing system described in the aforesaid patent has proven generallysatisfactory, the requirement to weld an attachment plate or lug to thescreen frame member in order to permit attachment of the securing strap,adds to the manufacturing cost of the screen (as well as requiring anadditional component part). Furthermore, the securing straps, when thescreen is being moved either rearwards to its rear position or from itsrear position to its forward position, will normally protrude from thesides of the screen frame and tend to catch on the vehicle interiortrim, and may cause damage to the trim.

It would be desirable therefore if the elongate securing straps wereable to be attached to the perimeter frame of the safety screen in amanner which avoids any welding and so that the securing straps can bemoved to storage positions where they do not laterally protrude from theframe when the screen is being shifted from one position to another.

It is the main object of the present invention therefore to provide animproved form of attachment which will allow the elongate securing strapto be secured to a perimeter frame member of the screen or barrier in asimple and inexpensive manner and which will allow the strap to bereadily moved to an out-of-use position to in turn allow the screen tobe conveniently shifted from one position to another.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedform of attachment for securing an elongate securing strap to aperimeter frame member of a safety screen which is designed to allow thestrap to be rotated between out-of-use positions on either side of themesh in-fill panel of the screen.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improvedattachment bracket for attaching an elongate securing strap to aperimeter frame member of a vehicle safety screen, which is separatefrom and does not need to be rigidly fixed, eg by welding, to the screenframe itself, and no special attachment point is required on the screenframe.

Broadly, according to this invention therefore, there is provided animproved motor vehicle safety screen of the type comprising a metal meshin-fill panel secured to a tubular metal perimeter frame, a plurality ofsecuring straps for securing the frame to the roof and floor of thevehicle, and attachment means for connecting one end of each said strapto a respective frame member of the perimeter frame, the other end ofeach said strap being adapted for connection to a respective anchoragein the vehicle floor or roof, the improvement wherein said attachmentmeans of at least one of the straps includes:

-   -   an outer connector bracket rotatable about an axis coinciding        with the axis of its associated said frame member and having an        approximately C-shaped body portion terminating in a pair of        spaced apart outwardly extending flanged ends in face to face        relationship, and an inner bush non-rotatably mounted on the        associated frame member and having a cylindrical bearing        surface, said body portion of the bracket surrounding said bush        and engaging said bearing surface, whereby said bracket along        with its attached securing strap is able to bodily rotate around        its said respective frame member, and    -   wherein said one end of the or each said securing strap is        fastened between the flanged ends of a respective said bracket.

Preferably the end of the securing strap is pivotally mounted betweenopposed parallel flanges which project radially from the ends of thebracket, by means of a fastening bolt and nut, whereby the strap canrotate relative to its bracket about an axis which extends at rightangles to its associated perimeter frame member.

In a preferred form of the invention, the connector bracket can rotatethrough an angle of at least 200 degrees, thereby allowing the securingstrap to be bodily swung to positions on either side of the mesh in-fillpanel. With the bracket rotated to a position where the strap lies infront of the mesh panel, the strap can be orientated so as to lieapproximately parallel to the plane of the mesh in-fill panel, wherebythe strap is able to nest within the recessed area defined by theperimeter frame which facilitates product packaging and transportation.

Preferably the bush has a square or rectangular through bore which iscomplemental to the shape of the outer profile of the perimeter framemember and frictionally engages therewith, and a cylindrical outerbearing surface for rotatably supporting the circular body portion ofthe bracket. The bush can be made from EPDM material having a shorehardness in the range 60 to 65 duro, or from a suitable nylon which haslow moisture absorption, high dimensional stability and strength.

In order to more fully describe the present invention, a preferredembodiment thereof is described hereunder in some further detail withreference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a safety screen mounted behind the frontpassenger seat of a vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the screen assembly shown inFIG. 1, showing one of the upper securing straps in its rearwardlyprojecting, ready to install position;

FIG. 3( a) is a perspective view of a bracket connector shown in itsassembled position for attaching the securing strap to the perimeterframe of the safety screen;

FIG. 3( b) is a perspective view of the bracket only prior to it beingwrapped around its bush attached to its securing strap;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG.1, with the upper securing strap rotated to a position where it liesinboard of the screen perimeter frame, so that the screen can be shiftedfrom one position to another;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the screen assembly shown inFIG. 1, wherein the upper securing strap has been rotated to a collapsedpackaging position wherein it lies in front of the mesh in-fill panel ofthe screen adjacent its associated frame member;

FIGS. 6( a) and (b) are perspective views of the screen assembly shownin FIG. 1 respectively showing one of the bottom securing straps in itsrearwardly extending in-use position, and a packaging or transportingposition wherein it has been rotated so as to lie in front of the meshin-fill panel and approximately parallel therewith; while

FIGS. 7( a)-(d) are views showing the internal bush which fits onto thescreen frame and around which the bracket 20 is rotatably mounted.

In this embodiment, there is shown a two position safety screen assembly10 arranged for securement in either a forward position immediatelybehind the front passenger seat of the vehicle or a rear position whereit is mounted immediately behind the folded down rear passenger seat ofthe vehicle. The screen assembly 10 comprises a screen or barrier 11having a perimeter frame 12 of tubular metal, and an in-fill panel 13 ofheavy wire mesh which fills the closed area defined by the perimeterframe 12. The mesh in-fill panel 13 is normally welded to the rearsurfaces of the tubular frame members of the perimeter frame 12.

The screen can be either essentially planar or formed with a slightlyarched configuration—in accordance with known art.

As is also known, in both the front and rear mounted positions, thescreen 11 is secured in position at four anchorage points, there beingtwo upper fixing points in the cant-rails of the vehicle roof (or in thevicinity thereof) and also two lower fixing points laterally spacedapart in the floor of the vehicle.

The screen 11 is provided with a pair of upper metal securing straps 15which, in both the front and rear mounting positions of the screen, arereleasably secured at their trailing ends by means of quick releaseconnectors 16 to respective anchorage plates (not shown) fixed in theroof panel of the vehicle.

The screen is also provided with a pair of lower short metal securingstraps 17 which are removably secured at their trailing ends by means ofsecuring bolts to anchorage plates in the floor of the vehicle. In thisembodiment the upper straps 15 are used to secure the upper cornerregions of the screen 11 to the vehicle roof, while the lower strap 17are used to secure the lower corner regions of the screen 11 to thevehicle floor.

The forward end of each of the upper and lower securing straps, 15, 17is pivotally attached to a bushed pivotal connector 19 which is mountedon a respective frame member 18, 18′ of the perimeter frame 12, wherebythe connector 19 and also the strap 15, 17 attached thereto can beselectively positioned in any one of a number of different angularpositions relative to the screen frame 12.

Each connector 19 has a saddle bracket 20 formed of sheet metal andwhich comprises a C-shaped body portion 21 which is rotatably mounted onan inner axially split bush 22, the ends of the C-shape body portion 21of the bracket 20 terminating in outwardly projecting spaced apartflanges 23, between which is clamped the leading end of the strap 15, 17by means of a pivot pin or bolt 24 and an associated clamping nut 25.The bush 22 has an outer cylindrical bearing surface which is engaged bythe inner cylindrical surface of the body portion 21 of the bracket 20,and a square or rectangular through passage 27 shaped to complement theperimeter shape of the frame member 18, 18′ of the screen frame 12. Thebush 22 is designed to form a tight friction fit with the screen framemember and is made from a rigid plastics material, which in thisembodiment, is Nylon 612 Zytel 158L.

FIG. 3( b) shows the metal bracket 20 in its pre-assembled condition,with its flanged ends 23 diverging outwardly to facilitate the figmentof the bracket around the bush 22.

With reference to FIG. 2 of the drawings, this shows one of the uppersecuring straps 15 rotated to an outwardly laterally projecting in useposition where it extends rearwardly away from the screen frame. In thisposition, the trailing end of the strap 15 is secured by simply engagingthe quick release connector 16 to its respective anchorage point.

Referring to FIG. 4 of the drawings, this shows one of the upper straps15 swung inwardly to an inboard position where it lies almost directlybehind the mesh in-fill panel 13. In this position, the screen 11 can bereadily moved from one position to its other position within the vehiclewithout the worry of the upper straps 15 catching on the trim of thevehicle interior.

Referring to FIG. 5 of the drawings, this shows the attachment bracket20 rotated to a position where the upper securing strap 15 lies almostdirectly in front of the mesh in-fill panel 13, with the flanges 23 ofthe bracket 20 and also the strap 15 lying within the recessed areadefined by the perimeter frame 12. The securing strap 15 is also rotatedabout its pivot bolt 24 to a collapsed or retracted position wherein itlies alongside its associated perimeter frame member, approximatelyparallel therewith. This facilitates packaging of the screen assembly10.

Referring to FIGS. 6( a) and (b) of the drawings, these show one of thelower securing straps 17 in its rearwardly extending in use positionwherein it projects rearwardly of the mesh in-fill panel 13 and aforwardly rotated retracted packaging position wherein it projectsupwardly in front of the mesh in-fill panel 13 and lies within the areadefined by the perimeter frame 12 of the screen 11.

The bushed bracket connectors 19 are fitted to their frame members 18,18′ at spaced locations therearound by firmly attaching the split bush22 onto the frame member so that its bore grips the outer perimetersurfaces of the frame member. Thereafter the divergent flanged ends 23of the saddle bracket 20 are located on opposite sides of the bush 22and the bracket 20 laterally pushed across the bush 22 so that the bodyportion 21 is wrapped therearound with the ends 23 projecting radiallyoutwards.

Finally, the spread apart flanged ends 23 are squeezed together, eg bymeans of clamping tool, to thereby deform same so that they lieapproximately parallel and in face to face relationship. The leading endof the strap 15, 17 can then be inserted between the flanged ends 23 ofthe bracket 20 and damped by the securing bolt 24 which passes throughaligned holes 26 in the flanged ends 23 and the leading end of thestrap.

Referring to FIGS. 7( a)-(d), the bush 22 is molded as two halves 28, 29which are hinged together at 30, with the halves 28, 29 havingco-operable catch or clip formations 31, 32 extending axially alongtheir non-hinged sides and which are designed to clip together when thehalves 28, 29 are wrapped around the frame members 18, 18′ of the screen11. When so clipped, the bush 22 is firmly frictionally retained inposition on the frame, and facilitates the engagement of its saddlebracket 20 therearound.

The bush 22 has end perimeter flanges 33 which assist the location ofthe body portion 21 of the bracket 20 and prevent any relative axialdisplacement therebetween. The outer cylindrical surfaces of the bush 22are desirably smooth and hard to allow the bracket 20 to readily rotatetherearound.

To improve the grip of the bush 22 against the frame member, theinternal walls of the halves 28, 29 are formed with protrusions 35.

It will of course be appreciated that the invention is not necessarilylimited to all of the features of the above described embodiment andthat variations can be made without departing from the true spirit andscope of this invention. For example, the pair of bottom straps may berelatively long with their brackets pivotally mounted on the side framemembers of the frame 12 adjacent the lower ends thereof.

A brief consideration of the above described embodiment will indicatethat the invention provides a vastly improved attachment means forattaching the securing straps to the perimeter frame of a vehicle safetyscreen, which avoids the need for the bracket attachments to be weldedto the screen frame, and which allows the upper securing straps to beswung from their laterally projecting in-use positions to positionsin-board of the perimeter frame to thereby facilitate the task ofrelocating the screen from one position to another without damaging thevehicle interior trim.

1. An improved motor vehicle safety screen, comprising: an in-fill panelsecured to a tubular metal perimeter frame, a plurality of securingstraps for securing the frame to the roof and floor of the vehicle,attachment means for connecting one end of each said strap to arespective frame member of the perimeter frame, the other end of eachsaid strap being adapted for connection to a respective anchorage in thevehicle floor or roof, wherein said attachment means of at least one ofthe straps includes an outer connector bracket rotatable about an axiscoinciding with the axis of its associated said frame member and havingan approximately C-shaped body portion terminating in a pair of spacedapart outwardly extending flanged ends in face to face relationship, andan inner bush non-rotatably mounted on the associated frame member andhaving a cylindrical bearing surface, said body portion of the bracketsurrounding said bush and engaging said bearing surface, whereby saidbracket along with its attached securing strap is able to bodily rotatearound its said respective frame member, and wherein said one end ofsaid at least one of the securing straps is fastened to the flanged endsof a respective said bracket.
 2. An improved vehicle safety screenaccording to claim 1, wherein the connector bracket can rotate about theaxis of its associated frame member to positions on opposite sides ofthe screen.
 3. An improved vehicle safety screen according to claim 1,wherein each of the securing straps has its said one end pivotallymounted between said flanged ends of a respective said bracket by afastening bolt, whereby the strap can rotate relative to its bracketabout an axis which extends at right angles to the axis of itsassociated frame member.
 4. An improved vehicle safety screen accordingto claim 1, wherein the in-fill panel is formed of metal mesh and issecured by welding to the rear sides of the perimeter frame, and whereinsaid bracket, along with its associated securing strap can be bodilyrotated to a storage position in front of the mesh in-fill panel withthe strap orientated so as to lie within the recessed area defined bythe frame members of the perimeter screen frame, approximately parallelto the plane of the mesh in fill panel.
 5. An improved vehicle safetyscreen according to claim 1, wherein each said bracket is formed ofsheet metal and is initially formed, prior to its figment to the screenframe, with said flanged ends diverging outwardly, said divergingflanged ends, when the bracket is engaged on its associated bush, beingsqueezed together so as to lie approximately parallel with one another.6. An improved vehicle safety screen according to claim 1, wherein saidbush comprises two parts which are hinged connected to one another alongan axially extending hinge line, whereby the parts of the bush can berotated between an open position wherein they are angularly spaced apartto facilitate their figment around the associated frame member, and aclosed position wherein the two parts encircle the frame member infrictional engagement therewith.
 7. An improved vehicle safety screenaccording to claim 6, wherein said hinged parts have co-operable catchformations extending axially along their non-hinged sides and arrangedso that, when the two parts are in their closed position, said partsreleasably clip together.
 8. An improved vehicle safety screen accordingto claim 7, wherein said frame member has an outer cross-sectional shapewhich is either square or rectangular, and the bush has an axial throughbore having a shape complemental to said outer cross-sectional shape ofthe frame member.
 9. An improved vehicle safety screen according toclaim 6, wherein the bush has opposite ends formed with radiallyoutstanding flanges between which a portion of the bracket is located tothereby inhibit relative axial movement between the bracket and thebush.
 10. An improved vehicle safety screen according to claim 1,wherein the bush is molded of hard plastics material.
 11. An improvedvehicle safety screen according to claim 1, wherein said securing strapscomprise a pair of relatively short rearwardly extending upper straps,each of which has its trailing end releasably secured to a respectiveanchorage point in the roof of the vehicle, and a pair of a relativelylong rearwardly extending bottom straps, each of which has its trailingend removably fastened to an anchorage point in the floor of thevehicle.
 12. A method of connecting an elongate metal securing strap toa perimeter frame member of a tubular metal peripheral frame of a motorvehicle safety screen or barrier, comprising the steps of: fitting abush having a non-circular through-bore and an outer cylindricalhardened bearing surface co-axially onto said frame member in fixedrelation therewith, mounting a metal saddle bracket onto said bush withits inner circumference surface engaging said bearing surface, wherebythe bracket can rotate about the axis of the bush, said bracketterminating in a pair of opposing spaced apart outwardly extendingflanged ends, each of which has an aperture formed therein; locating anapertured end of the securing strap between the pair of flanged ends ofthe bracket with the aperture in the strap aligned with the apertures inthe flanged ends, inserting a bolt or similar fastener through thealigned apertures, and engaging a nut on the bolt and tightening same soas to clamp the strap between the flanged ends.
 13. A method accordingto claim 12, wherein the bush is comprised of two hingedly connectedparts, whereby the parts can be hinged about an axis extending axiallyof the bush between an open position to allow its figment laterally ontothe frame member, and a closed position wherein the parts encircle theperipheral surface of the frame member in frictional engagementtherewith.
 14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the two partsclip together when in their closed position.